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with worry and insist that Tori come stay with her and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She’d relied on Diana’s support far too much already for Diana to be worrying at one of her niece’s gatherings. If she refused to meet with Guy, Diana was bound to appoint herself Tori’s guardian and again, that was not what Tori wanted.
    “If you ask questions isn’t someone going to wonder why and then show up here?”
    “Maybe if I called directly but I’m not going to. I have a brother-in-law in the FBI. I thought I’d ask him to call. He can ask lots of questions without answering any in return.”
    “But won’t he want to know why you’re interested?”
    “Yes, but Todd is a good guy. If I tell him it’s important he’ll find out whatever he can without an explanation up front.”
    Tori sighed and nodded. “Okay.” She saw Diana’s shoulders relax slightly and knew she’d been holding her breath.
    “Thank you.” Guy touched her cheek in a brief caress.
    Not wanting to face Diana, Tori raced for the steps before Guy even turned to go. She knew Diana would give her time alone before approaching her and was grateful her friend was so understanding.
    “She won’t ask me to come with her,” Diana stated softly.
    “Excuse me.” Guy pulled his thoughts from Tori’s hasty retreat.
    “She won’t have me join you.”
    “Why? You’ve already heard about it. I’d think she’d be more comfortable with you there.”
    “She might be if she weren’t holding something back. Tori is a very self-reliant young lady. Always has been. She’s a tough little cookie, very difficult to get to know. But don’t let that hard shell fool you. She’s determined to hide it but inside she’s a kind, caring, sensitive little girl. Yes, you’ll find she’s a real sweetheart if you can get past all her defenses. Tori doesn’t trust easily or lightly, Guy. This is extremely hard for her, asking for help. You must have said something right for her to agree to meet you but don’t expect her to just open up and tell you everything. You’re going to have to drag it from her, word by word. I’ll appreciate it if you don’t let her frustrate you to the point where you give up and she closes you off.”
    “Not a chance, Diana. I’m in for the duration.”
    Something in Guy’s tone caught Diana’s attention. “Ah.”
    He couldn’t read anything in her expression. “Pardon me but ah what? What does that mean?”
    “It means, young man, that I can see you’ve greatly revised your opinion and your motives for helping aren’t purely professional.”
    “Am I that transparent?”
    “No, but I was fascinated the first time I met her too. There was just something about the way she marched in here and informed me that if I didn’t hire her in spite of her total lack of qualifications I’d be making a huge mistake. She stood there, all proud and prickly, like it didn’t matter in the least what I decided but I could tell that wasn’t really her. Taking her on was one of the best decisions of my life. It’s been wonderful, watching her grow into herself. I expect it’ll be quite an adventure watching her figure out that she’s as hooked on you as you are on her.”
    “She is?”
    “Mm, and that’s the last bit of matchmaking I’m going to do.”
    “Then I should thank you for the tip. Diana, no matter how we end up personally, I will see this nightmare business through. I’m sure I’ll meet plenty of resistance but I’ll take care of her.”
    She nodded. “See that you do. Tori is very special to me. She’s family. I won’t ask you to tell tales behind her back but if there’s something I can do, will you let me know?”
    “You have my word.” With that settled, Guy went to collect the information as he’d promised.

Chapter Five
     
    The longer Tori spoke, the more the hair on the back of Guy’s neck stood on end. The scene she described matched the report he’d received to the last detail. But